Volleyball is an Olympic sport in which two teams separated by a high net use their hands, arms, or (rarely) other parts of their bodies to hit a ball back and forth over the net. Each team is allowed three hits to get the ball over the net to the other team. A point is scored if the ball hits the ground in the opponents' court, if the opponents commit a fault, or if the opponents fail to return the ball properly.

Volleyball can be a very active sport that can be an excellent source for aerobic exercise. It also helps players improve their hand-eye coordination and the ability to override the instinctive desire to dodge a fast-moving object such as a ball.

On February 9, 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts, William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director, created a new game called Mintonette as a pastime to be played preferably indoors and by any number of players. The game took some of its characteristics from tennis and handball. Another indoor sport, basketball, was catching on in the area, having been invented just ten miles (sixteen kilometres) away in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts only four years before. Mintonette (as volleyball was then known) was designed to be an indoor sport less rough than basketball for older members of the YMCA, while still requiring a bit of athletic effort.